Animal Models of Digestive Disease Core ? Project Summary The objective of the Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) in Digestive & Liver Diseases (CDLD) is to enhance research infrastructure and expand research capacity to enable outstanding and collaborative biomedical research in digestive and liver diseases. We wish to establish and sustain the CDLD as the driving force for digestive and liver diseases research at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). We further envision that the MUSC CDLD will become a major focal point for digestive and liver diseases in the state of South Carolina, becoming a hub for trainees and established investigators alike. The topic of this COBRE is particularly relevant given the enormous impact of digestive and liver diseases on a broad range of Americans, including the citizens of South Carolina. Performance of digestive disease research requires utilization of unique and complex models of disease. Thus, we have developed a Core intended to specifically provide the COBRE in Digestive & Liver Diseases (CDLD) with a distinctive, unified, and skilled core facility that provides access to essential animal models and guidance on research project planning and implementation. The proposed core will leverage existing resources and expertise within the MUSC Division of Laboratory Animal Resources (DLAR) in order to efficiently develop new capabilities that focus on producing in vivo models of digestive disease. Core leaders will offer CDLD Junior Investigators (JIs) specialized knowledge, mentorship and training on animal models so that they obtain sufficient, high quality data for their projects, which will then form the basis of their successful competition for future independent extramural funding. Supporting JIs? research is the a objective for the AMDDC; however, all investigators at MUSC will have access to the models, resources, and training the Core provides. To achieve the stated objective, the AMDDC will be composed of three distinct but interactive components as follows: 1) Animal models of digestive and liver diseases, 2) A gnotobiotics facility, and 3) A focused and extensive training and mentoring component. Members of this core are skilled and highly experienced, supporting the generation of high quality data. !